Patrick John Crowley (1942–2025)

On 14 November 2025, Patrick John Crowley MPharmS, aged 83 years, of Inchinagotagh, County Cork, Ireland. Mr Crowley registered with the Society in 1991.

Tribute

It is with great sadness that to announce that Patrick (Pat) Crowley died peacefully in Princeton, New Jersey, on 14 November 2025. Despite the American connection, Pat was an Irish man born in Inchinagotagh, County Cork, Ireland on 12 June 1942 and was raised on the family farm. He attended St Fachtna’s De La Salle School, followed by a pharmacy apprenticeship — both in Skibbereen. His academic talent was clear at a young age, and both his family and community supported his pursuit of a degree in pharmacy. He graduated from University College Dublin with first-class honours.

Pat never forgot his humble roots, and his work ethic was unmatchable. He would start work at 6:30am and finish everyday at 6:30pm (and the rest). Pat had this enormous sense of responsibility and loyalty to his teams, and he never viewed his people as expendable. Pat would fight passionately that each team member had a role to play in the industry — we just needed to find the right role. He really was special that way and a trait seldom seen in these throwaway times we live in.

Pat moved to London, where he met Kathleen Hughes at an Irish dance. They were married in 1972 and enjoyed 53 years of marriage. He worked as a formulation scientist in the pharmaceutical industry at Wyeth, Beecham, SmithKline Beecham and GSK in a 40-year career in both the UK and United States. Pat’s standout professional achievement was his work developing the antibiotic Augmentin, for which he successfully developed a stable formula that led to US patent 4,301,149.

Augmentin remains widely prescribed to this day. This achievement elevated Pat from bench scientist to leadership positions in research and development despite not possessing a PhD (typically a requirement in those days). His unique professional journey and humble beginnings gave him unique skills in leading teams and developing people. Pat mentored many scientists who are still active in pharma today and contributed to the launch of multiple products, including Amoxil, Bactroban, Eminase, Relafen and Coreg. His contributions to pharmacy in the UK were recognised when he was made Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Pat’s personal interests included Irish culture in many forms (e.g. literature, music, sport, history), travel and long-distance running. Following retirement and until the age of 77 years, he completed more than 40 half-marathons. Through half-marathons, he found a way to combine running, travel and family in Boston (seven races) and the Connemarathon (five races), the latter becoming a cherished tradition with his much-loved nephews. 

Pat and Kathleen had emigrated to the United States in 2003 for work, and they remained in Devon, Pennsylvania, for most of their retirement years. Close proximity to grandchildren in New Jersey made this a joyful home in later life. In 2021, multiple myeloma presented Pat with a new challenge, which he faced with pragmatism and minimal fuss, along with much scientific interest in his therapies and bloodwork! For four years of treatment, many spreadsheets were created, and many doctors were charmed, until the last datapoint was entered and his last race was run. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.  

I for one will miss him greatly. When I first met Pat, he was my boss, when I moved divisions, my mentor and when I left GSK, my friend — often spending time with my family and enjoying a nice meal and glass of wine, discussing wide-ranging topics from sport, drug delivery and reminding me when Ireland beat England at rugby during the Six Nations Championship. When he moved to the United States, I would remain in contact and swap emails with him and still be told that Ireland had beaten England again. I will and always will have the utmost respect for Pat Crowley: a pharma legend and a wonderful, decent man.

Patrick is predeceased by his parents Florence and Eileen Crowley and sister Betty Cadogan. He is survived by his wife Kathleen Crowley, son Kieran Crowley, daughter-in-law Melissa Quaal, grandchildren Callum and Jude, and siblings Nell Hallihan, Mary Greene and Florence Crowley. 

Gino Martini, chief executive of Precision Health Technologies Accelerator